What if Qmatic did elections?

Published: 07 August 2018

Can elections be made more engaging, accessible and secure by reimagining them with digital technology?

During 2018 we witnessed the dramatic elections of Italy, Russia, Finland, Mexico and Turkey. Right now, the US is in the middle of its midterm processes. This fall new government elections are due in Sweden, Ireland and several other countries. However, a challenge every democracy face is a decreasing share of active voters.

However, in a more transparent and fast moving world, elections could also be made easier, more secure and more inclusive.

What if companies like Qmatic would use their secure, personalized, technology to provide the individual voter with assistance and information through all the required steps?

First you’d start of the process on your mobile with an easy, guided registration and using digital signatures for proving identity. After that information on parties and candidates can be made available, and you could cast your vote digitally or get help find your voting station if you need to be there in person. If it’s your first time, maybe there would be some extra explanations of the process. And as soon as you cast your vote the results can be made into a personal experience which in real-time would show how the vote affects the distribution of votes by geographic breakdown, tendencies etc. This could potentially increase the transparency and engagement in the democratic process in a very tangible way. Combine this with cryptography or blockchain tech and you also have a system that is really hard to manipulate.Would these kinds of ideas influence the user experience of the voting procedure? Of democracy itself? Could it even make people more interested in exercising their democratic right? Possibly; and there is only one way to find out.